Walter Padbury is a significant figure in the history of the Western Australian Turf Club because his name is prominent in the 1892 Act that remains one of the state's most important documents pertaining to thoroughbred racing
Walter Padbury is a significant figure in the history of the Western Australian Turf Club because his name is prominent in the 1892 Act that remains one of the state's most important documents pertaining to thoroughbred racing.
In 1877, Padbury was one of the three lessees to whom Queen Victoria demised and leased the land on which Ascot Racecourse stands. Padbury experienced considerable hardship shortly following his arrival in Western Australia aboard the Protector in 1830 but he bounced back, working his way up from a teenage shepherd admired for his industry to a successful businessman adored for his philanthropy. Padbury, who died in 1907, bequeathed large sums of money to numerous charities in his will.